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5.16.2017

How To Effectively Promote Your Etsy Shop

You could probably guess that proper promotion for your Etsy shop = sales. But with all the different avenues of promotion and social media to keep up with, how do you determine which avenues are right for your business? I've been exploring this topic a lot lately and so I felt it was only fair to share my experience and a few tips on how to effectively promote your Etsy Shop!

Let's go over a few promotion avenues and what I've learned:

Coupon Codes- Coupon codes are a great way to attract new customers with an incentive of purchase. You can offer a coupon to a new customer for signing up for your email list, or just following you on social media. I use coupon codes sparingly and on special occasions like black friday. But it is always fun to surprise customers with an unexpected discount!Promoted Listings on Etsy- To be honest, I steered clear of promoting listings on Etsy for years. But I've recently found out why this is a really great way of gaining customers. You can set your maximum promotion budget to $1 a day at the lowest and the best part is even if you aren't receiving sales through this avenue, you most likely will be gaining favorites and listing views. The great part about this is when someone favorites your item on Etsy, the people who follow them on Etsy will see your listing - it is a ripple effect. I highly suggest you try to promote your listings on Etsy. Try it out for 4 weeks and take note on how it goes, you can always turn them off and on depending on the season!

Google Shopping- This is very similar to the ease of promoted listings on Etsy, but with the endless marketplace of Google. It can be easy to stay inside an "Etsy bubble" but if you want your shop to grow, you'll need to bust out of this bubble. Google Shopping Ads are a great way to do this! I recommend if you have your promoted listings turned "on" to be promoting on Google Shopping as well. If you want to gain $100 in Google Shopping Ads, follow this link!*A note about promoting listings on Etsy and Google: You can promote all day, but in the end bright, clear photos will attract a click and a listing with a detailed description (about 150 words) will make the sale. Don't forget to fully take advantage of the tags available to you on the listing so people will actually find your product! So yes, promote on these avenues but don't promote if your listings aren't up to par.

Facebook Ads- Do you ever see the pop-up on Facebook with a mock ad with your product and the caption says "Reach 5,000 more people with just $5!" I see this every single day and I'm always repelled by the idea of Facebook Ads. But think about it: how many times a day do you see a Facebook ad and click on it? I will raise my hand and say approximately 5 times. These ads are a great avenue if you have a special promotion going on or a big event you are preparing to launch. Since you are most likely working with a smaller budget, I would choose promoted listings on Etsy over this avenue but don't discount Facebook - this could be a great way for your shop to be promoted!Instagram Influencers and Bloggers- I've talked about this many times before, and touched on it in a recent podcast with The Maker Academy, but I think promotion through instagram influencers and bloggers is a great way to organically grow your business. But before you go out and ask 100 people to promote your product I would encourage you to think about a few things first.

1. Numbers don't always matter. I believe even if you have one friend with 250 instagram followers post about your product, they may have more people actually listening than the account with 25,000 followers that are unengaged.

2. Ask to send product. Instead of asking someone to post about my product I offer sending over my product. If the person enjoys it, they will most likely post about it in a more organic and authentic way.

3. Hosting a Giveaway. Giveaways are a great way to promote through influencers and bloggers. Just make these thoughtful and use them sparingly! Think outside the box on this one, team up with other small businesses to do a joint giveaway and even give people a "thank you" coupon code for entering!

4. If they contact you, collaborate! The more you work with influencers, the more you'll learn about what types of accounts work with your brand. If someone reaches out to you, work with them and take note of what works and what doesn't!

5. Finding influencers and bloggers: check who you are already following and take note of who aligns with your brand (i.e. a home decor product being sent to a lifestyle blogger or home decor instagram feed). To find new people, check out the suggested accounts and browse hashtags related to your brand. I won't lie, this can take a long time but the more you do it the more people you'll find that are a great fit!

I hope this helps you understand what avenues you should start exploring to promote your Etsy shop! Give it time, it won't always work overnight but stay consistent with it and see what happens!

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Hello! I'm Courtney. On Always Rooney, you'll find DIY projects, home decor updates and Etsy business tips. I hope you are encouraged to create while you are here. Thanks for stopping by. You can always get to know me more on my about page.